Light up the bonfire in my heart
by betweenacts
Summary: The Doctor decides to take Donna to somewhere different, but still on Earth, for Valentine's day. T because i'm a little sensitive.


"Doctor, I know it's Valentine's day. But can we forget that? Can we pretend it's not Valentine's day on my time line."

"Oh Donna, you don't understand, do you? It can be any day we want."

"And what day do you want it to be?"

"Valentine's day." he smiled dancing around the console room and she wanted to beat him só hard he would feel it for the rest of his sorry life.

"Where are you taking me, space prawn?"

"I will tell you when we get there." he sounded very much proud of himself.

"Oi, take that smile off your face or I will do it. You sound all Mr. Know-it-all and you know how much I hate when you do that."

"I will have you know that I do know it all."

"Yeah, that's why I have to save your skinny ass so often."

The TARDIS finally landed.

"So, where are we?"

"I will tell you tomorrow. We are staying for two days at least."

She eyed him suspiciously before getting out of the box.

"Spaceman, it's not cold here. As a matter of fact. It's really hot." she went back to the ship making him stay outside for long torturing minutes. He knocked on the door.

"COME ON, DONNA. I want to have my dinner!"

She came out in a light blue sun dress, he stared at her for a moment before saying "You look lovely."

"Yeah, Casanova, let's have that dinner shall we?" she had in her hand a small handbag, that was actually bigger on the inside with another sun dress and some light PJ's since they were staying for the night, if nothing happened of course.

They were in a small city with nineteenth century's houses and the streets weren't smooth with pavement, but of parallelepipeds.

"What year are we in?"

"We are in your time, it's 2009."

"Yeah now pull the other one. This city was forgotten by time." she looked around.

"Many cities have." she looked around waiting for him to start babbling like she knew he would. "Well, they haven't been forgotten by the time exactly, that's impossible. Well, not really impossible you just need a time-lock and who would time-lock here, right? Just, the architecture didn't change in the smaller cities. Not for a few decades anyway."

Donna saw a sign on a door and they got in.

"You know what makes me more excited? The fact that, because of the TARDIS translating everything I have no clue where we are." her glee was contagious making him grin that crazy grin of his.

The place was full with small wooden tables, with colorful tablecloths and only one waitress.

"Let's eat... The cuisine here is not really gourmet, you have real meals and all that."

They ate beans and rice with meat. But the beans seemed different, so did the rice and the spices tasted like nothing Donna had ever tasted before.

"I don't care it's not all posh, this is bloody delicious." what Donna really enjoyed was dessert. "What's this yellow gelatine thing-y?"

"It's called quindim. It's made with coconut and a huge, huge, insane, amount of eggs, and other cooking... stuff." the Doctor, unexpectedly, had actual money in his pocket. The notes were colorful with animals in it as far as she could see. The Time Lord whispered something in the waitress' ear and she went inside the kitchen.

"What did you say to her?"

"Just asked her to bring something for me. That's all." he was bubbling inside, Donna could tell, he was as excited as she was about this place.

The gorgeous smiling brunette came back with a plate involved in a embroidery cloth.

"Donna, are you allergic to peanuts?" the Doctor asked.

"No..." she got the plate in her hands. "Thank you."

"Oh, it was nothing. We have loads of this left. The June festivals are just starting." the local answered and then turned around to go to a table where a family sat.

"June Festivals?" Donna looked at the Doctor even more curious. "You said it was valentine's day."

"Well, this country doesn't have Valentine's day, more like a Lover's day and it is in June." he smiled at her. "And for the first time I don't agree with the TARDIS translation, it's more like a festivity."

Donna wondered why the Doctor had brought her to a place where they didn't have Valentine's day as it was. It sounded like it was something for couples only, maybe the misunderstandings were getting under his skin.

"How is this called?"

"It's called _paçoca_, it's a sweet made of peanuts." She ate the small cylindrical candies. She made a moaning sound as she ate them.

"Seriously, how is everyone around here not fat? Are they actually Time Lords with superior metabolism?" he laughed as she devoured the plate and they walked to a hostel.

There was a man talking with a lady that seemed to be his mother. He had dark hair and eyes and was about Donna's height while the woman wasn't much above five feet tall with blonde dyed hair.

They were talking vividly and a little loudly for Donna's ears.

"Hi, I'm the Doctor and this is Donna, we need rooms." he said flashing his psychic paper.

"Are you staying until the end of the festivities?" it seemed like the TARDIS had heard the Doctor's thoughts about the translation.

"No, we will only stay until tomorrow."

"Ok... if you two could follow my mother, she will lead you to your room... Sorry, I'm an idiot. My name is Paulo and my mother is Maria."

The Doctor looked at Donna and then to Paulo and said "Donna, go with Maria to our room, I'll be right behind you, just need to talk a little with Paulo."

"Ok, whatever." she said already walking.

"I don't see a wedding ring." Maria stated as they climbed a flight of stairs.

"Oh we are not..."

"If you ask me, you came in the perfect time. Tell you what, it's pretty simple. Tie a ribbon on your bra, use that bra for a week with the ribbon in it. By the end of the week put the ribbon on the feet of Saint Antonio. That will make the big day come by faster, your young man will ask you soon."

"We are not a couple." Donna said. It seemed like the answer was even less effective when she was alone. Maria left and Donna took the time to put on her pajamas.

The room was simple, with a king-sized bed with white fluffy sheets and the walls had cute framed family pictures.

The Doctor came back in almost running and Donna jumped.

"Please don't say Maria and Paulo are actually bad aliens wanting to take over the world, or the universe, and we need to start running." she almost pleaded in a fast speech.

"No... why would you say that?" he sounded confused the stupid git.

"I don't know, maybe because that's WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE AROUND!" she sat down on the bed with her hand over her chest.

"I'm just excited! It will start in the morning, well they will start to get everything ready in the morning. We can go around noon, so we will have breakfast and they go."

"What are you on? Go to what? That June Festivity thing?"

"Yes. Isn't this fun?" he gave that slightly maniac smile of his and sat beside her.

"I don't even know where we are yet." she said making his face fall. "I'm having fun, though I will have to go on a diet after leaving. I actually should already be on one but..." she started but he stopped her.

"No you shouldn't, there is nothing wrong with you. You shouldn't listen to your mother that much."

The stared at each other for a while daring the other to go on, so the Doctor did. "I think it's better if we sleep."

"Yeah." she whispered. "Oh, they also think we are a couple, must be that psychic paper of yours, if you ask me. So, one bed."

"But it's a big bed, big enough for both of us to share. No one needs to sleep on the flood. You are not going to make me sleep on the floor. Are you? Don't make me sleep on the floor." he looked and sounded like a five year old in that moment.

"I won't leave you sleeping on the floor Time Baby. But, if I am pushed out of the bed you will regret the day you were born." she said it in a tone that made him shiver with fear, or something like that.

They slept in the furthest sides of the bed. 

* * *

><p>In the morning they were all tangled in each other in a position that seemed to hurt if you looked form the outside, but both woke up feeling rather comfy.<p>

"Your skinny bones have been poking me in funny places all night." Donna mumbled still asleep, when she realized what she said, she sat up, grabbed her bag and went to change.

"Who took away my teddy?" the Doctor asked before rolling the covers in a ball and hugging them. "Not my teddy." and went back to sleep. 

They went down the stairs talking vividly about they day they would have.

"Will you finally tell me where we are?"

"Oh, but Donna we are close to going to where I want to take you..."  
>"Was this on your list of places to take me?"<p>

"No, it was on yours. Though I changed it a little bit."

Donna had a small lists of places, and people, she wanted to meet. She was still waiting for him to take her to meet Enid Blyton. It seemed to her he kept forgetting it on purpose.

"The places I want to meet are all boring Earth. This seems Earth alright. Or is this one of those freaky colonies in the future made to look like Earth?"

"No, no, not a colony. There will be a colony of this country on the twentieth third century, or is it on the twentieth fourth? Can't remember... But this is really your home planet, your time even."

"One year in the future, though. Who knows, maybe you already got tired of me and there is another Donna Noble walking the Earth right now."

"Not possible. The places I want to take you will delay your comeback to Chiswick for at least ten years... Let's eat?"

"Let's." she answered happily trying to brush out the warm fuzzy feeling she had because of his plans for them.

They ate carrot cake with chocolate frosting, drank orange juice. Donna spotted a basket with rounded breads and got a few to eat.

"Ok, this is not normal bread." she said, but continued eating.

"It's cheese bread one of Brazil's..." he started trying to sound like an encyclopedia but let the country slip.

"WE ARE IN BRAZIL?"

"Yep." he said with a pop in the 'p'.

She looked around and there were people leaving their houses with colorful dresses and straw hats.

"Where are the masks, the painted faces and bodies. And why can't I hear samba?" she sounded excited really, really excited.

"First. That's Carnival, and Carnival is any time from early February to early March and we are in June. Secondly, there are other things in Brazil that have nothing to do with Carnival..." she looked at him a little disappointed and he continued. "Donna, you Humans... Argh, how do you want to know other planets and live in amongst the stars when you don't know your own planet? You know a small part of a culture and believe you know everything about it."

"I hate when you do that. Take us to some place only to give me a lesson about how so much better your old lot were."

"That's not why..." he tried to tell her something but she had finished eating and stood up.

"So, are we going or not to this whatever it is?"

"Yes, yes we are." he said putting a handful of milk candies in his pockets.

* * *

><p>The Doctor had offered his hand but Donna refused, still angry with him. However, as they walked their hands naturally joined, leaving Donna even more angry.<p>

"Tell your hands to keep away from my hands, Spaceman, or your face will have to deal with them." she said but didn't remove her hands from his.

They walked about two blocks and reached a street that was closed for traffic. There were stands with food and drinks in both sides of the street. There were strings with paper pennants from every color crossing from one side to the other above the houses tied to the light poles. There were speakers blasting a kind of music that Donna couldn't recognize.

The sound of the music, of the laughter and happy chatter filled the Human's ears while the explosion of colors filled her eyes.

Donna squeezed the Doctor's hand and whispered "Thank you". A few children ran by them. "It looks like a street fair. But the clothing is different from every day clothes..." she mused.

"How about you get us something to eat?"

"Is your stomach bigger on the inside? We just had breakfast." she couldn't believe him sometimes.

"Something to drink then!"

"Don't you have legs? I know they are skinny and look about to break but... Oh, I got tired of this metaphor." and left to one of the drink stands.

"And be careful with... Oh, she will find out." when he turned around there were two people dressed in that typical way they had seen earlier and a bunch of cards in their hands.

"Would you like to send a Posh Mail for you lovely wife? We can even wait until you two are apart again so you can build up the suspense."

"We are not... she is not... I'm not..." he looked over at Donna who was laughing at something. "Can I get the card and give it over myself?"

"Sure!"

* * *

><p>"Would you like hot wine or 'quentão'?" the old man asked her.<p>

"What's the difference?"

"Quentão is made of cachaça, ginger, cinnamon or other spices. Hot wine is, well, wine, apples and a few spices... How do you not know that? Where are you from?"

"England."

"Wow, seriously? Pardon me, you do look 'gringa', but I thought you were just from the South. Your Portuguese is perfect!" Donna gave out a heartfelt laugh.

"Why, thank you. I'm a specialist in different languages."

"At least you didn't come here trying to speak Spanish... Have you decided?"

"I will have two 'quentões'." she said and soon accepted two cups with the hot beverage.

She gave the Doctor one cup.

"Did you get 'quentão'?"

"Yep."

"Don't drink too much, it's kind of strong."

"It's hot, you can't boil alcohol, it evaporates." she took a sip. "Blimey, it's spicy."

"Well, actually for the whole portion of alcohol to evaporate you need to heat it for three ours. That's a very silly human belief, eighty five percent of the alcohol doesn't dissipate at all..."

"Spaceman." she said before he could continue.

"Yes, Donna?"

"Drink it before it gets cold."

"Oh yes."

They walked through the food stands.

"I can't eat more. I can't eat more."

"You could eat a few of the candies. They are so good." he said eating.

"Every one here should be overweight, ok?" she popped one milk candy on her mouth.

They went to a square where the music was louder than in the streets. There were children playing with something that seemed to be on fire.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Donna asked trying to get it from the hand of a small boy.

"It is." he said putting on glasses. "If their parents are allowing, there is nothing we can do." he put one hand on her waist taking her closer to the square; it was decorated with the same pennants and a few miniatures of some kind of hot air balloon.

There were people dancing, whatever that was. The couples were dancing really, really close. It made Donna want to drink one more cup of that hot drink.

"Why isn't the TARDIS translating the lyrics from the song?"

"Translating music is hard, the meaning of the words are very personal. Music can only be truly understood in it's original language."

"Doctor?" she looked at him with a glow in her eyes that she got every time she would make fun of him.

"Yeah?"

"Tone down the deep thought inducing catchphrases. You are worst than a obnoxiously old vicar. "

And that was when Maria and Paulo spotted them.

"Oh look, darling. It's that sweet couple that's staying at the hostel." Donna heard her say.

"We are not a couple..."

"We are not married."

"Not ever."

"Never ever." they did they usual denial dance.

"Yes, and it doesn't rain March." she grabbed the Doctor arm. "How about Paulo here teaches your gorgeous wife to dance 'forró' while I teach you?"

"I don't dance..." before the Doctor could finish he was being dragged to the middle of the square.

"So..." Paulo started.

"Can I drink a 'quentão' before I try this?"

"Ok."

Two quentões later...

"It's easy, really. Two steps to each side." he said trying to show her.

"It looks like someone could get pregnant from that." she said and he laughed before putting his hand on her waist and pulling her closer to him. "Oi, hands!"

"With all due respect, I don't do married women. I'm just trying to teach you how to dance 'forró'." she put her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm not married you know. We are not even a couple."

"Nan is never wrong."

"She is your grandmother?"

"I look older than I am." she relaxed. As they were dancing she tried to spot the Doctor and laughed when saw that he was failing as much as she was, then the laughter became a fond smile. "Not a couple, huh?" Paulo whispered in her ear.

The Doctor went back to Donna a little breathless, Donna asked Paulo to stop dancing.

"This is quite hard." the Doctor said in a whining voice.

"It's the hips. It's all in the hips. Damn Latinos." she accepted his arm and they went to the food stands and bought a few things to eat. And Donna drank one more quentão.

"Go Easy on that, Donna."

"I'm fine Spaceman, I know how to hold my liquor, thank you very much."

They went back to the square which was kind of empty in the middle that was being used as dancefloor.

"Is it over already?"

"Oh, I think now is the 'quadrilha'."

"The what?"

"It's dance, but rehearsed."

She wanted to slap him and she would if her hands weren't fool, so she stepped on his foot. Hard.

"Hey, why did you do that?"

"Because I couldn't slap you."

Suddenly the music got louder, and following the rhythm came two lines, one of men and one of women, to the makeshift dancefloor.

The men had their hands behind their back and the women were holding one side of their skirts. A man dressed up pretty much in the same way as the others had a microphone in his hand and he started giving some kind of orders for the dancers to follow.

"Gentlemen, greet the ladies." the men walked in direction of the women, took of their hats and took a bow before going back to their places. "Ladies, would you kindly greet the gentlemen?" the ladies went close to the men holding both sides of their skirts and also took a bow before going back.

This happened about three times and Donna was a giggling mess.

"Get ready for the gallop." the two lines got apart and couple by couple they joined in the middle and went jumping together in a pretend gallop until the end of the line. Everyone swayed in the rhythm of the music waiting for new orders. They exchanged partners and did some silly dances, Donna heard a little girl talking about the 'quadrilha' in her school and she wondered how kids remembered all these little details.

"Every one on the way home." the couples got together and started walking in circle never losing the rhythm. "Uh oh, seems like the bridge broke down." the whole line made a 'booing' sound and the circle changed its direction.

"Watch out, a snake!" the women jumped in the men's arms giving out a squeal. "I was lying." the man in the microphone said with a cheeky grin.

"It's raining now." the men took off their hats and put them over the women's heads. "Not anymore."

They said some hoorays to some Saints and some people from the city and Donna smiled. The dancers left the 'dancefloor' and those who were dancing before came back and the place was filled with laughter once again.

"Wanna go now?" the Doctor asked smiling to Donna's clear happiness.

"Ok." they walked back to the TARDIS but before they walked in they looked up and there were fireworks painting the skies.

"The festivities will go on until 24th of June in the whole country. Today is Saint Antonio's day, he is known as a marrying Saint, which is why the Lover's day is one day before his. It's called festivities because there are other two Saints whose days are in June, so it's one big party thing-y all over." the Doctor explained.

They got in, the Doctor put his coat on the jumpsuit and went to fly the TARDIS to the vortex.

"I'm going to take a shower." Donna said going to her room.

Donna walked in and put the handbag on her bed before taking off her shoes and going to the shower.

The Doctor, having finally parked the ship, went over to his coat to get the cards he wrote to Donna. He may have went a little over the normal, but there were so many cute cards with those two sweet people and he had so much to say... When he put his hand on the pocket the cards were in, he felt his two hearts drop. The cards weren't there. He looked intently to the wall and said with despair.

"What did you do? I didn't intend to send her all of them!"

He really didn't, when he got a little too excited with the cards he didn't intend for her to see not even one quarter of them. He still didn't know how he wrote so many in the time she went over to get them the drinks.

Donna was feeling a little bit tipsy, even though the shower helped her sober up a little. That 'cachaça' was actually strong. Not that she would admit that the Doctor was wrong, he had a big head as it was.

Then she looked at her bed. There were so many cards, in so many shapes – hearts, bears, cupids -, she couldn't count how many there were, but it was covering the bed and starting to fall on the floor.

"What are you playing at?" she asked the TARDIS and then got one card and read it. "You hair is more beautiful than the swaying mountains of Felspoon." there was one written 'You cook so well I might never stop eating' and 'I like you more than I like bananas' and she was seriously torn between laughing and crying. The other messages were totally bonkers in a way that is very much her Spaceman.

There were also a few 'I love yous', most of them the paper was torn or crumpled. There was only one completely clear. Donna knew it was in Gallifreyan, it was the same circles that were in the post-its all over the ship.

The Doctor came in running without knocking at the door.

"What's written in this one?"

"You weren't suppose to read them."

"Why? Is it actually for Rose?"

"No..." they looked at each other for a while.

"Please, what's written in this one?" she handed the card to him.

"It's in Gallifreyan."

"I figured that one out. What does it say?" he pulled one part of the card and suddenly it became bigger.

"Oh, you are kidding me. It's bigger on the inside?"

"This one I did it myself a few weeks ago." he cleared out his throat. "You are going to hate it. I over-did the cheesy."

"Back in Gallifrey, there were powerful women whose name were Era, or Domina. Their mothers decided upon those names because in Latin they mean 'Lady'." he stopped reading. "Did you know Latin was created by the Time Lords? Then they came to Earth and taught the humans. It's true."

"Keep reading, Time Boy."

"Donna also means lady. I don't think you realize, but every time you introduce yourself you say 'Noble Lady'. Never have I known someone with a name so fitting." he took a deep breath. "Your hair is the same shade of the grass in the mountains in Gallifrey. And that's so ridiculous, I might never tell you. I don't think it's only the color of your hair that makes me feel at home when I'm with you."

"Does it get more cheesy?" she asked with a mock voice trying to hide the tears.

"Extremely more, don't you know I know no limits?"

"How does it end?" she asked getting close to him.

"Oh, it's a cliche, you are not going to like it."

"Some cliches are good. Better now be 'yours truly', though."

"It's not." he said simply and she raised her eyebrows in expectation. "It's ends with 'I think I love you'."

"Good."

"Good? That's all you have to say? What else do you want? I will never understand you humans. Specially human females. You are a crazy-wazy ball of tricky things and hormones."

"It's Good because I think I love you too." before he could answer he had pushed him on the bed, the cards had completely disappeared, and she straddled his hips. "Don't even try talking, Martian boy." then she was kissing him.

Only then he realized she was only wearing a towel. He feared she would slap him so he kept his hands on her hair, he loved her hair.

"It's ok to touch me you know." she said when they parted. She grabbed his hands and put them on her legs. He caressed them, loving the feel of her skin. She put her own hands on his chest and started to unbutton his shirt.

"Donna..." he tried to say something, but she kept kissing his chin and neck... "Donna, I think we should just sleep." when he said that she realized just how tired she was and yawned.

"It was a long day wasn't it?"

"Yep, a long day with no scary aliens or running."

"That must be a record." she looked down at him with his shirt half-opened and his hair even messier than the normal and got up to put on her pj's. "Stay?" she asked after lying down in her bed.

"Ok." she slept almost immediately like a child after an afternoon in the park.

The Doctor looked over at her remembering the songs he heard, and differently from her, understood. He took a deep breath realizing that Saint John did light up the bonfire in his heart.


End file.
